Hide and chic: are clothes and apparel made from alternative leathers better for the environment?

The global production of raw hides used in traditional leather has increased over the last two decades from 10.5m tonnes in 2005 to 13.8m tonnes in 2024. Photograph: fstop123/Getty Images/iStockphoto

In sustainable fashion, breathless promises about vegan leather have arrived thick and fast for over a decade. Innovations promise mushroom and cactus alternatives that look and feel like real leather – minus the negative associations with methane, deforestation, chemical pollution and animal welfare.

While these next-gen materials have absorbed billions of dollars in capital under an environmental banner, experts are concerned they remain a shiny distraction while the fashion industry’s emissions and reliance on fossil fuel-derived materials grows.